This invention relates to an air handler to ventilate a building designed to raise poultry and livestock. By confining the animals, productivity is increased while reducing the operating costs. The practice has found almost universal acceptance in the United States in raising poultry.
While achieving many advantages, raising the animals in a densely populated confined area requires precise control of the indoor air quality. Such factors as air temperature, humidity, bacteria count and odor must be closely regulated to avoid the spread of disease and to maintain a desirable animal growth rate.
In addition to the above factors, applicants have determined that the flow of air into poultry houses must be closely regulated to avoid the formation of local cold and hot zones, particularly on floor areas adjacent to the building walls. Because of their relatively small size and reduced mobility in confinement, chickens spending considerable time in cold and hot zones will lag, both in weight and quality, behind the rest of the flock.
A number of ventilating systems for poultry and livestock buildings have been invented as typified by U.S. Pat. No. 2,995,077, issued Aug. 8, 1961 to Gerald L. Kitson and U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,336 issued Apr. 20, 1976 to Loren C. Miller et al. The patent to Kitson shows a ventilating system employing a makeup air system and a separate exhaust system driven by a common motor. While Kitson does teach a deflector to direct the makeup air, the purpose of the deflector is to prevent makeup air from being drawn in by the exhaust fan. Miller et al. show a number of elongated ventilating slots mounted near the roof line. The Miller et al. system is responsive to indoor pressure. The baffles in Miller et al. do not provide precision control over the direction of makeup air.
While the above mentioned patents do teach ventilation systems for poultry and livestock housing, the prior art does not teach a ventilation system having an air handler which can exercise precise control of the discharge of makeup air into the building.